Atlantida, Uruguay

I rode across Uruguay yesterday, from Paysandu to Valizas, where I spent the night in a rancho, which is a house with no electricity, where you have to pump the water with a handpump if you want to take a shower or use the bathroom. so I pumped water and wandered around in the dark looking for candles. I got there after dark, and went to a restaurant I was at during my bicycle trip in february. because the residents have voted against putting in street lights, the night sky is incredibly bright and full of stars and galaxies. It´s hard to believe this is what the sky used to look like all over the world. valizas was deserted, and the restaurant served five tables all night, but I managed to meet an interesting Italian who has been in Uruguay for 30 years and was surprised I could tell he wasn´t a native.

this morning I rode up to aguas dulces, another beach town, and then hit the autopista back to Montevideo. After three days on the bike, I am sore, and I realize that I don´t take in as much on the motorcycle as I did on the bicycle. I think I will be taking a lot more bicycle trips in the future.

I am going to leave the bike here in Atlantida with a member of the Uruguayan swat team who assures me it will be safe, and take the bus to the ferry to argentina. I should be in Buenos Aires tomorrow.

I had a problem with my atm card yet again. apparently one of the airlines double charged me on a ticket and took out all my traveling cash, so when I got online, I had $2 and change to my name. but I called my bank and was able to transfer enough to keep going.

beside me in the cyber cafe, some kids are playing a game online, and screaming at one another as they play on different computers. It is rather distracting.